Thousands of adjacent freight railroad cars are connected and unconnected everyday in railroad yards to form freight trains for travel to different destinations. The corresponding couplers of two adjacent railroad cars which are being connected must be correctly positioned or aligned prior to being coupled for proper coupling. During the coupling process, if the couplers of two adjacent railroad cars being connected are not aligned (i.e., are miscoupled), one or more of the couplers, strikers, bell mouths, brake hoses, angle cocks, end sills and other components of one or both of the railroad cars can be damaged. For example, if the couplers are not aligned, the ends of the couplers of either or both railroad cars can engage the frame of the other railroad car (instead of the coupler of the other railroad car) which can be damaged. This damage can be extensive. The couplers and other components of thousands of railroad cars in the United States are damaged each year due to improper alignment of couplers. This problem is magnified for railroad cars having wide bell mouth openings and long shank couplers.
Damage to couplers and other components occurs in part because railroad cars often roll through curved tracks before being connected along straight tracks. Railroad yards often have coupling areas wherein railroad cars are directed along a single main line railroad track to a switch. The switch leads to two or more railroad destination tracks. Some railroad yards have many destination tracks connected to a single main line track. Some railroad yards have multiple main line tracks connected to multiple destination tracks. Each railroad car is directed from the single main line track through the switch to one of the destination tracks to form different freight trains (which will go to different destinations). To provide for these multiple tracks, the switches lead to the curved track portions. As the railroad car moves on or through a curved track portion, one or more of the coupler(s) of the railroad car can shift from a central position to an off center position (i.e., to the right or left of center). When this occurs, depending on the position of the coupler of the opposing railroad car being coupled, the couplers may not be aligned and may by-pass each other during the coupling process. This occurs even though the adjacent railroad cars are often coupled on a straight portion of the destination track.
FIGS. 16A to 16C diagrammatically illustrate one example of how couplers can become misaligned and thus by-pass each other during the connection or coupling process in a railroad yard. FIG. 16A illustrates Railroad Car A and Railroad Car B on the straight portions of the tracks in a railroad yard. The couplers of both cars are centered. FIG. 16B illustrates Railroad Car B moving from the main line section of the track on or through the curved portion of the track at the switch and that during such movement to the left the coupler tends to move to the right relative to Railroad Car B. The coupler on Railroad Car A remains centered. FIG. 16C illustrates Railroad Car B about to be coupled with Railroad Car A and that the coupler of Railroad Car B remains positioned toward the right side of Railroad Car B. The couplers on Railroad Car A and Railroad Car B are therefore misaligned and will by-pass each other. This generally illustrated problem is often magnified because many railroad yards are hump yards, wherein railroad cars, such as Railroad Car B, gain speed prior to coupling to enhance the coupling process.
FIG. 17A diagrammatically illustrates adjacent railroad cars with couplers in alignment. FIGS. 17B to 17F diagrammatically illustrate adjacent railroad cars with misaligned couplers. These figures illustrate that misalignment can occur in various different manners. Such misaligned couplers and components on such railroad cars are subject to being damaged during the coupling process. More specifically, FIGS. 17B to 17F diagrammatically illustrate railroad cars with couplers misaligned in the same direction and railroad cars with couplers misaligned in the different directions.
Due to these problems, it is well known that couplers often must be manually positioned or aligned after the railroad cars being coupled are moved adjacent to each other and prior to the actual coupling of the two adjacent railroad cars. Manually moving and adjusting the couplers at this point can and sometimes does result in injury to the railroad yard workers. Additionally, this manual adjustment during the coupling process can be a time consuming task and can slow down the coupling process.
Various apparatus have been proposed for positioning couplers. For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,809,251 and 3,642,149 disclose coupler positioning devices. Such coupler positioning devices are not widely used because they have various disadvantages. Such coupler positioning devices are fairly complicated and are subject to failure. These coupler positioning devices also add a significant amount of weight to each of the railroad cars, thus decreasing fuel efficiency. These coupler positioning devices also do not work properly on a consistent reliable basis. These coupler positioning devices are also relatively expensive to manufacture, install and maintain.
Accordingly, there is a need for a reliable, simple, durable, inexpensive, lightweight, easily installed, easily operable device for facilitating the alignment of couplers on opposing adjacent railroad cars prior to and during the connection or coupling process of those railroad cars.